“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state” proclaimed Quaid-e-Azam on 11 August, 1947 in his Constituent Assembly speech.
In order to honour Quaid’s ideology and vision, National Minorities Day is observed on August 11 each year in Pakistan. The same was celebrated on Tuesday to recognise the services and sacrifices rendered by religious minorities for the country.
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Recognizing contributions of minorities in nation-building
The day is aimed to recognize the contribution and sacrifices of minorities in creation of Pakistan and nation-building.
It has always been the endeavor of the Government to safeguard fundamental rights, safety, security, honour, life, liberty and prosperity of minorities in line with the historic speech of founder of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah at the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947.
Pakistan is open for ALL minorities! You ALL are free to go you in your respected Temples, Mosques 🕌, churches⛪️ or any other place to worship! I will never let ANYONE play a Minority card in Pakistan InshAllah!#NationalMinoritiesDay #PakistanZindabad 🇵🇰💚 #QuaidEAzamZindabadd pic.twitter.com/47JU9OMRVX
— Faisal Iqbal🇵🇰🏏فیصل اقبال (@FaisalIqbalCric) August 11, 2020
The Government of Pakistan declared 11 August as National Minority Day in 2009. To mark the day, different events, including seminars and social gatherings, were arranged across the country by members of various religious minorities.
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Ceremony at the Punjab Governor’s House
Punjab Human Rights and Minority Affairs Department will observe the ‘National Minority Day’ today (August) with a solemn ceremony at the Punjab Governor’s House.
Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar will be the chief guest, while provincial Minister Human Rights and Minorities Ijaz Alam Augustine will be the guest of honour during the ceremony which will commemorate the services of religious minorities in the uplift of the country.
Parliamentary Secretary Human Rights and Minority Affairs Mahinder Pal Singh, representatives of the minority communities and members of the civil society organizations will also attend the ceremony.
#PTIGovernment, under the leadership of PM @ImranKhanPTI is committed to ensuring minorities rights in #Pakistan. Opening of #Kartarpur corridor & reserved quota for minorities in Higher Education is a proof that our minority grps enjoy religious freedom#NationalMinoritiesDay pic.twitter.com/WKSN6pjOKo
— Team Sarwar (@TeamSarwar) August 11, 2020
Message from President Alvi
In a message on the day, President Dr. Arif Alvi has stressed upon the nation to maintain the spirit of tolerance, social equality and brotherhood in the society by shunning all prejudices.
He said on this day, we all reiterate that individually every Pakistani citizen will meet duties of looking after their fellow countrymen.
The President reaffirmed that all communities residing in the country will be treated and respected equally so that the country can further march on the path of progress and development.
He said the day has great significance in the history of Pakistan as the whole nation reaffirmed its commitment with the promise made by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on August 11, 1947 in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan to safeguarding the rights of minorities.
Both state and society must be true to Mr Jinnah’s vision of a country in which religion or belief is a personal matter and no basis for differences of citizenship. #NationalMinoritiesDay
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) August 11, 2020
Resolution to include minority heroes in educational curriculum
PLML-N MPA Hina Butt has submitted a resolution to include the minority heroes in the school curriculum, in the Punjab Assembly.
The resolution submitted in Punjab Assembly to include minority heroes in the educational curriculum referred to the extraordinary measures made by the state of Pakistan to facilitate the Sikh community. Now, the inclusion of minority heroes in the curriculum would be another significant step in honoring and respecting them.
Celebration of Minorities Day on Social Media
Calls have been made on social media to commemorate August 11th as the Equal Citizenship Day instead of National Minority Day in Pakistan, on social media.
August 11 should be celebrated as #EqualCitizenshipDay instead of #NationalMinorityDay because our Quaid Mohammad Ali Jinnah has promised equal citizenship to #Hindus, #Christians, #Sikhs & believers of other faiths.The word "minority" minoritizes & otherises us.#PakistanForAll
— Kapil Dev کپل دیو (@KDSindhi) August 10, 2020
The white strip in the flag of Pakistan was added for the representation of minorities in Pakistan. Trending hashtag on Twitter #NationalMinorityDay displays the nation lauding minorities for playing a very important role in Pakistan’s progress.
PTI’s Aleem Khan tweeted ‘Our Minorities have always played an important role in the development of Pak. From a socio-economic lifestyle to religious freedom, minorities are provided all sorts of facilities. On this #NationalMinoritiesDay we pledge to take care of our minorities to promote social harmony.’
Our Minorities have always played an important role in the development of Pak. From a socio-economic lifestyle to religious freedom, minorities are provided all sorts of facilities. On this #NationalMinoritiesDay we pledge to take care of our minorities to promote social harmony.
— Abdul Aleem Khan (@abdul_aleemkhan) August 11, 2020